Live & Local: Chance Moorman

Chance Moorman is all of what you might expect from a 16 year old–sweet spoken, lively, and still indecisive about what she wants to do when she grows up. But not many teenagers have been playing the ukulele and guitar since the age of 13 or strive to be a better songwriter. Taking a look at her YouTube channel, Moorman has experience covering songs like her delicate ukulele version of “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” but also shares a more personal side to the age-old enigma of love with her song “Forget.”

Moorman’s musical ambitions began because of the band Never Shout Never (initially a one-man band and ukulele player) and her father, Chris Moorman, who played in the Macon-based 90s rock band Mount Pilot. Recently, she showcased her talents at the Women with Purpose event and has also played several venues for Macon’s First Friday. I spoke with Moorman about her experience at Otis Music Camp, songwriting, and why the arts are important for her generation.

What kind of music did you listen to growing up?

Not just rock. But Bluegrass and Americana, like The Wood Brothers.

Tell me about your experience with the Otis Music Camp.

This year was my third year at the Otis Redding camp. I started going so I could learn more about writing songs and I have learned a lot. I feel like it’s helped me become less shy with music.What we do each year is get with a group of people who are looking to write the same type of music. So every year I’ll be in the rock group. We put ideas together and we have songwriting workshops. Being with different people who want to do the same thing as you, like music-wise, is a really cool experience.

Where do you get inspiration from to write your songs?

Life experiences. Pretty much every song that I’ve written is based off some kind of event in my life. And they’re usually sad songs. I don’t know. I want to be a lot better with writing music because I feel like there’s a lot more I need to improve on.

How difficult was it learning the ukulele and transitioning to guitar?

I think that learning ukulele really helped me because I just kind of picked up the guitar and started making a few chords that I knew how to do. I wouldn’t have been able to just pick up guitar and play it if it hadn’t been for the ukulele.

Is singing something you always wanted to do?

I’ve always been singing apparently, according to my parents. Even when I was little I would always be singing. And I love singing.

What hopes do you have for your music in the future? Do you have any other creative outlets?

I’m not sure if I want to make my whole life just music. But I just really hope that I get better. Not essentially with writing, but also with guitar. I really like drawing and painting. I’m not sure if I want to go further into that as well. But I have no idea what I want to do in the future [laughs] Just something with art.

Why do you think it’s important for people your age to get involved with the arts?

We’re the next generation and I really think it’s important that we all contribute to a music scene. Even if you’re not a musical person you should support it. I want music to keep being a big part of the world. So, I think it’s really important that [our generation] does our part.

We’re always trying to grow the music scene in Macon. What do you hear from your generation that we’re not doing right?

Show an interest in music. And come out to shows. Local stuff. People need to actually go out more and show their love for music. We need more people to get involved in it so that it will continue to grow.

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